Jennifer Brielmaier

Associate Professor

Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience: Effects of course modality on student engagement and satisfaction; use of case studies in neuroscience teaching; undergraduate students' development of scientific identity

Dr. Brielmaier is an Associate Professor of Psychology and director of GMU's undergraduate Psychology Honors program. She teaches undergraduate courses in biopsychology as well as courses in GMU's undergraduate Neuroscience program. She is a past recipient of the University's Teaching Excellence award.

Her current research interests center around the scholarship of teaching and learning. In her teaching role, she does not typically have research opportunities for students. Her previous research explored the neurobehavioral effects of drug exposure in adolescence, behavioral phenotyping in mice, and modeling complex neuropsychiatric conditions in nonhuman animals.

Selected Publications

Brielmaier J. The Woman Born Without a Cerebellum: A Real-Life Case Adapted for Use in an Undergraduate Developmental and Systems Neuroscience Course. Journal of Undergraduate Neuroscience Education. 2016;15(1):C1.

Brielmaier J, Senerth JM, Silverman JL, Matteson PG, Millonig JH, DiCicco-Bloom E, Crawley JN. Chronic desipramine treatment rescues depression-related, social and cognitive deficits in Engrailed-2 knockout mice. Genes Brain Behav. 2014 Mar;13(3):286-298.

Brielmaier J, Matteson PG, Silverman JL, Senerth JM, Kelly S, Genestine M, Millonig JH, DiCicco-Bloom E, Crawley JN. Autism-relevant social abnormalities and cognitive deficits in engrailed-2 knockout mice. PLoS One. 2012; 7(7):e40914.

Brielmaier J, McDonald CG, Smith RF. Effects of acute stress on acquisition of nicotine conditioned place preference in adolescent rats: a role for corticotropin-releasing factor 1 receptors. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2012 Jan; 219(1):73-82.

Prager EM, Brielmaier J, Bergstrom HC, McGuire J, Johnson LR. Localization of mineralocorticoid receptors at mammalian synapses. PLoS One. 2010 Dec 15; 5(12):e14344.

Brielmaier JM, McDonald CG, Smith RF. Nicotine place preference in a biased conditioned place preference design. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2008 Mar; 89(1):94-100.

McDonald CG, Eppolito AK, Brielmaier JM, Smith LN, Bergstrom HC, Lawhead MR,Smith RF. Evidence for elevated nicotine-induced structural plasticity in nucleus accumbens of adolescent rats. Brain Res. 2007 Jun 2; 1151:211-218.

Brielmaier JM, McDonald CG, Smith RF. Immediate and long-term behavioral effects of a single nicotine injection in adolescent and adult rats. Neurotoxicol Teratol. 2007 Jan-Feb;29(1):74-80.

Smith LN, McDonald CG, Bergstrom HC, Brielmaier JM, Eppolito AK, Wheeler TL, Falco AM, Smith RF. Long-term changes in fear conditioning and anxiety-like behavior following nicotine exposure in adult versus adolescent rats. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2006; 85(1):91-97.

Courses Taught

Biopsychology -- PSYC 372

Biopsychology Lab -- PSYC 373

Brain and Behavior – PSYC 376

Principles of Learning – PSYC 304

Psychology Honors I -- PSYC 490

Psychology Honors II -- PSYC 491

Psychology Honors III -- PSYC 492

Molecular, Developmental and Systems Neuroscience – NEUR 335

Laboratory Methods in Behavioral Neuroscience – NEUR 395

Current Topics in Neuroscience – NEUR 410

Seminar in Neuroscience – NEUR 411

Education

Ph.D., 2010, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA

M.A., 2007, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA

B.S., 2004, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA

Recent Presentations

Brielmaier, J., & Kuo, Y. Comparing student engagement across online, hybrid, and face-to-face formats of a neuroscience course. Conference on Higher Education Pedagogy, Virginia Tech, February 2021.

Brielmaier, J., Lee, Y. C., Ramsdell, J. M., & Olesova, L. Strategies for Incorporating Peer Interactions into Online Courses. GMU Innovations in Teaching and Learning Conference, September 2020.

Brielmaier, J., & Kuo, Y. Comparing online, hybrid and face-to-face formats of a neuroscience course. GMU Innovations in Teaching and Learning Conference, September 2020.

Brielmaier, J., Kuo, Y., & Olesova, L. Evolution of an online course: Benefits of flexible design. GMU Innovations in Teaching and Learning Conference, September 2018.

Kuo, Y., Luan, J., & Brielmaier, J. Learner control in online environments: Understanding learner behaviors via learning analytics. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, April 2016.

Brielmaier, J. & Kuo, Y. Effect of instructional design on students’ motivation to learn in an online psychology course. GMU Innovations in Teaching and Learning Conference, September 2016.

Kuo, Y., Luan, J., & Brielmaier, J. Investigating students’ use of lecture videos via data mining and surveys: A case study for understanding learning behaviors in online courses. International Conference on Web-Based Learning, November 2015.

Brielmaier, J. & Kuo, Y. Effect of instructional design on students’ motivation to learn in online courses. GMU Innovations in Teaching and Learning Conference, September 2015.

Brielmaier, J. & Kuo, Y. Instructional Design Cycle Applied to an Online Psychology Course. GMU Innovations in Teaching and Learning Conference, September

2014.